ANAHEIM – With starting pitchers John Lackey and Ervin Santana at least 10 days from returning to the Angels, manager Mike Scioscia admittedly hasn’t considered how it will affect the existing starting rotation.

Shane Loux and Matt Palmer have.

The duo with nine career major-league starts between them before this season might be giving the Angels something to think about. In their past four starts, Palmer, 30, and Loux, 29, have combined to go 4-0 with a 2.49 ERA.

Despite four members on the disabled list, Angels starters had an American League-best 3.60 ERA entering Wednesday’s game.

But when Lackey (strained right forearm), Santana (sprained right elbow), Dustin Moseley (tightness, right forearm) and Kelvim Escobar (right shoulder surgery) begin to come off the disabled list, something has to give.

“We’re realists,” said Loux (2-2, 4.30 ERA). “There’s guys coming up. There’s too many people here. Somebody’s gotta go. We’re just trying to put ourselves in position to not be the one that goes.”

Anthony Ortega (0-1, 5.56ERA), who lasted just 1 1/3 innings in Wednesday’s start, was the last injury replacement called up from Triple-A Salt Lake this season and the 23-year-old seems the obvious first candidate to go back in order to be nurtured as a starter.

If not as a starter, Palmer (2-0, 3.65 ERA) and Loux might be in position to stick around in a relief role if the Angels bullpen continues to post the worst numbers in the majors: 1-8, 7.44 ERA.

“If I got the opportunity, my goal was to make it a tough decision when those guys came back off the DL,” said Loux, who was called up last season for a brief stint as a relief pitcher before he was injured. “I feel like I’m doing that and I want to continue to do it.”

Despite the current patchwork starting rotation having limited the Angels’ relief pitchers to an AL-low 71.1 innings, closer Brian Fuentes believes the absence of four starters has affected the bullpen if only by occupying Loux and Palmer.

“When those guys come back it’s going to have a trickle-down effect on the bullpen,” Fuentes said. “One of the starters could end up being a long (relief) guy.”

Rehab report

Lackey looked good after throwing 61 pitches and allowing one hit in 4 2/3 innings of a rehabilitation start Tuesday for Triple-A Salt Lake.

“The impressive thing about John is that he maintained his stuff through 60pitches,” Scioscia said. “His 61st pitch was every bit as crisp as his first pitch. I think that’s an important indicator that he’s making progress and he’s ready for the next step.”

The next step will be 75 or 80 pitches in his next start Sunday. …

Moseley (tightness, right forearm) was cleared to throw his first bullpen session Wednesday. …

Outfielder Vladimir Guerrero (torn right pectoral muscle) was cleared to hit off a tee Wednesday.

Wood sent down

After two weeks, two starts, nine at-bats and three hits with the Angels, Brandon Wood was sent back to Triple-A Salt Lake after Tuesday’s win over Oakland.

The early season holes in the Angels’ lineup began to disappear just as the power-hitting 24-year-old infielder was called up April21, limiting his opportunity to crack the lineup.

“There’s some chemistry there that’s forming and you want to keep nurturing that moving forward,” Scioscia said of the lineup. “(Wood) will let us know in the next couple of months, couple of years, but you have to balance it with when a guy is ready for the challenge, when he has the opportunity to go out there and play.”

Clay Fowler is the sports features and UCLA basketball writer for the Southern California News Group. He has been working for SCNG since 2006, when he moved to Southern California from his native Texas. He was born and raised in Dallas and graduated from the University of Texas in 2002. He lives in La Verne with his wife and son. He is probably craving Chinese food right now.

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